Addiction Recovery Psychiatry

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Addiction Recovery

The medical psychiatry service offers expertise in the assessment and management of substance use disorders for all BWH patients, under the direction of Joji Suzuki, MD. Our staff provides comprehensive assessment and treatment recommendations for substance withdrawal and detoxification for inpatients, as well as a host of other complications of substance use. In the context of the rising prescription opioid epidemic in this country, we also offer assistance for medical inpatients with known or suspected opioid use disorder having difficulties with acute and/or chronic pain. We also offer outpatient consultations and work collaboratively with a variety of primary care and specialty clinics to improve the treatment of substance use disorders, including the various BWH primary care, HIV, OB mental health, and outpatient psychiatry clinics.

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital's Addiction Recovery

The Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospital Addiction Recovery Program offers a comprehensive array of clinical services for individuals seeking recovery from alcohol and other drug addictions. We have been serving Boston and its surrounding communities for over 20 years with a long tradition of inspiring hope and treating individuals and their families with dignity, care, and respect as they face the challenge of recovering from the effects of alcohol and/or other drug addictions. Our team is unique in that it brings together experts from the field of medicine, psychiatry, and addiction giving us the ability to care for patients with addiction who also have co-existing medical and/or psychiatric illnesses.

At the Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital Addiction Recovery Program, we recognize every patient as an individual who deserves to be treated with dignity, care and respect. We believe addiction is a treatable disorder, and that care provided by compassionate professionals in an environment of support and mutual respect heightens patients' self-esteem and promotes medical, emotional, spiritual and social recovery. Our goal is not only to promote abstinence and recovery from chemical dependency and its effects, but also to assist patients in achieving the highest level of human potential. Further, we offer the patient's family and friend's information on how to support the patient and how to care for themselves at the same time.

The Outpatient Suboxone Practice for Opioid Addication is designed to help patients struggling with opioid addiction. Examples of opioids include heroin, percocet, vicodin, oxycodone, oxycontin, morphine, MS Contin, and methadone.

The process begins with an initial medical evaluation which is done to determine if patients are appropriate for our suboxone program. Next, an appointment for a suboxone induction is scheduled where patients will be observed at our clinic as they initiate suboxone medication. Following a successful suboxone induction, the patient enters into a Weekly Maintenance Group for at least 8-weeks. The actual length of treatment is a collaborative decision between the patient and the treatment team. Weekly groups have a psycho-educational approach aimed to increase safe copings skills to prevent the return to active use. All patients are required to attend a 45 minute group facilitated by an addiction social worker in addition to a weekly suboxone medication management appointment with one of our board certified addiction psychiatrists. Individual therapy is an integrated part of treatment. Following the completion of the weekly maintenance group, patients transfer into a monthly maintenance group for ongoing addiction education and support while receiving suboxone maintenance therapy. Please call 617-983-7060 (option 2) for referrals.

The BWFH Outpatient Evening Group Treatment Program provides support throughout the crucial first months of recovery from chemical dependency. The Evening Group Treatment Program allows working adults to continue meeting their day-time responsibilities while receiving outpatient treatment in the form of group therapy for their addictive disorder. This 2-week program meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and is meant to be used in conjunction with self-help meetings in the community. The program consists of clinical assessment, counseling, group education and support, relapse prevention skills training, safe coping skills education and training, and aftercare referrals for ongoing treatment and support. Please call 617-983-7060 (option 2) for referrals.

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital offers a Men’s Early Recovery Group as well as a Relapse Prevention Group one night a week for 8 to 12 weeks. The Men’s Early Recovery Group occurs on Tuesday evenings from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. The Relapse Prevention Group occurs on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Please call 617-983-7060 (option 2) for referrals.

Our Vision: to continue our long tradition of inspiring hope and providing dignified, respectful care to our patients, while incorporating the latest advances in Addiction Medicine in order to provide our patients will the fullest range and highest quality of treatments.

Our Mission: to provide evidenced-based, compassionate care in a professional and collaborative manner which creates an atmosphere of hope that not only promotes recovery from alcohol or drug addiction, but provides a space where patients can discover their highest human potential and be inspired to make recovery-oriented changes medically, socially, emotionally, and/or spiritually.

Our Core Values: To Create Hope and Inspire...

Patient Centered-Care: We believe that the patient knows himself or herself better than any of us. We aim to provide care that elicits the patient's strengths and supports the patient in a way that helps him or her to make long lasting recovery-oriented changes.

Collaborative Care: We achieve the best outcomes when we foster collegial staff relationships and deliver care that is team oriented, including recognizing that the patient is a vital part of the team. We strive to dismantle the stigma associated with substance use disorders .

Professional Care: For us, professional care is an attitude that supports recovery-oriented change in our patients, supports our colleagues to continue to provide quality care, and continues to take advantage of opportunities for growth and learning so that we can provide the highest quality, evidence-based treatments.

Inspirational Care:We believe that providing hope to our patients by highlighting their strengths is key to improving their confidence and discovering their human potential, and ultimately inspiring recovery-oriented changes.

As part of our academic mission, the ARP is involved in the training of psychiatry and medical residents as well as trainees from local social work graduate programs. Residents and trainees are closely supervised by attending physicians, and will inform patients about their training status.

The ARP is working on several research projects in which patients are offered the opportunity to participate. Treatment is never contingent on participation in any project, but we believe that our involvement in research and teaching helps us provide evidence-based, state-of-the-art care.